Arsenal welcome fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur to the Emirates on Saturday lunchtime aiming to make it seven wins from eight and hand their neighbours their first defeat of the season in the process.
Few rivalries in the Premier League match up to this one when it comes to guaranteed drama and hatred from both sides of North London. However, that doesn't mean there isn't the occasional compliment sent from either side and one issued by former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho is starting to ring true more than ever.
In the aftermath of Tottenham's 2-1 win over the Gunners in July 2020 during 'Project Restart', Mourinho offered up some praise for his Arsenal counterpart Arteta despite getting the better of him on the day.
“To be honest, I think Mikel Arteta has found a way for them to play and to be stable and to improve. They are improving," the Portuguese coach claimed. His comments came at a time when Arsenal were just starting to show an upturn in fortunes after a miserable first half of the season under Unai Emery.
The Gunners ultimately finished eighth the season Mourinho made those comments, sparking plenty of fans and pundits alike to quash any talk the Arsenal were improving. However, just a month later Arteta lifted the FA Cup, his first piece of silverware as a boss just eight months into his managerial career.
This sparked further flattery from Mourinho, who conceded in Decemeber 2020: "He [Arteta] is a good coach. He is a talented coach. He won already an important competition in the first few months of his career; that we cannot deny. To be the Arsenal coach, you have to be good - if you are not good, you are not there."
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The season that followed that FA Cup triumph was one of the worst in Arsenal's modern history as they finished eighth for the second successive season. Progress was made the following campaign as the Gunners ended up in fifth, one point shy of Spurs in fourth - missing out on Champions League qualification in the process.
Now, at long last, long after Mourinho has been sacked and Antonio Conte now occupies the technical area the 'special one' once roamed, Arsenal are returning to the conversation when it comes to challenging for the title.
Six wins from their opening seven sees Arteta's Arsenal sit top of the Premier League, but the visit of Spurs poses arguably their toughest test to date. It is the same story for Conte, who should take heed of Mourinho's comments regarding Arteta's improvement.
While the Spaniard may be the youngest manager in the division, Arteta has been at the helm of Arsenal since December 2019. He is no longer a rookie learning the ropes, the Gunners hierarchy have placed their full faith in the boss, as represented by the three-year extension he signed just before the end of last season.
The two main men set to take their places in the Emirates dugout on Saturday already have some bad blood dating back to last term.
After Spurs' 3-0 victory over their rivals in May, Conte told reporters: "I listened to him complain a lot, I think he has to focus more on his team and not to complain. He has to focus more on his work and be calm."
Arsenal have already proven they are on the kind of trajectory that would support Mourinho's 'improvement' claim given they currently occupy top spot.
This is not the same side that Conte toppled just four months ago, the Gunners have added the likes of Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fabio Vieira to their ranks while William Saliba's integration into the side has proved pivotal.
Mourinho's message should be in the mind of Conte and serve as a warning for how quickly Arteta can raise the level of what he has in front of him.
